Daxter
|affiliation = Underground Spargus citizens Freedom League Eco Pirates Jak, Samos Hagai, Keira Hagai |height = 2'10" |mass = 21.7 kg |species = Human (formerly) Ottsel |gender = Male |equipment = spray gun electric bug swatter |abilities = Dark Daxter powers |relationships = Tess |voice actor = Max Casella Richard McGonagle (Dark Daxter) }} '''Daxter' is the secondary protagonist of the ''Jak and Daxter'' series, being the secondary titular playable character, and the supporting sidekick of Jak throughout the main series. He also serves as the primary character in the self-titled spin-off game, Daxter. He is a former human, and was transformed into a Precursor ottsel upon falling into a dark eco silo in The Precursor Legacy. He made his debut in the first game at fifteen years old, with his most recent known age at nineteen during Jak X: Combat Racing. He was raised in Sandover Village alongside his best friend Jak before traveling to the future to become a well-known hero. Daxter is voiced by Max Casella throughout the series, and Richard McGonagle as Dark Daxter. History Before The Precursor Legacy Nothing is revealed of Daxter's past. It is unknown where he originally came from, if he had any family, or how he met Jak and Samos, though it is known that Samos often employed Daxter to clean his hut, and Daxter grew up with Jak, though other than this, Daxter's story picks up in the beginning of The Precursor Legacy. The Precursor Legacy In the beginning of The Precursor Legacy, Jak and Daxter sneaked off to Misty Island against their watchover Samos Hagai's permission, where Daxter—in human form—fell into a dark eco silo after being confronted by a bone armor lurker. Daxter reemerged in the form of an ottsel. They returned to Samos' hut, only to discover that the only person that could change them back, Gol Acheron, lived far north of the continent, and had not been in contact with any of the other sages in years. Additionally, Samos Hagai did not have the ability to teleport them to the dark eco expert, as the other sage's teleport gates had been disabled for "quite a while". Jak and Daxter then go on an adventure collecting power cells in order to power the A-Grav Zoomer's heat shield so they may travel above volcanic areas in order to reach Gol Acheron. While at the Red Sage's hut in the Volcanic Crater, it is revealed that Gol, and his sister Maia Acheron, had been overexposed by dark eco and underwent malignant mental alteration, and kidnapped all of the sages so they can flood the world with dark eco by opening the dark eco silos using a Precursor robot powered by the rest of the sage's power. When Jak and Daxter were battling the evil siblings, four large towers emitted large eco beams to create light eco, which Daxter theorized could turn him back. However, the light eco could also be used to destroy Gol and Maia and save the world. Daxter decides to save the world, and remains in his ottsel form for the foreseeable future. Daxter In the beginning of Daxter, while inside a bar, Daxter was seen bragging to the patrons about his "adventures", leaving very little impression on his audience, except for an old man named Osmo, head of the Kridder Ridder extermination company, who saw Daxter's potential and offered him a job as a metal bug exterminator. Daxter was at first uncertain, either because he did not necessarily want the job, or because he was in the midst of a two-year-long mission to find his imprisoned companion. However Osmo managed to persuade him into the job. He then completed various bug-exterminating jobs throughout limited parts of the city while also trying to find Jak and free him from imprisonment, all the while continuously thwarting the plans of the evil Kaeden. After a successful job at the Westside Hotel, Daxter meets Taryn at the Construction Site and she gives him a spray pack. After completing a few more jobs (including an encounter with a hive queen), Daxter sees Jak in a prison transport zoomer. He attempts to rescue Jak, but the prison zoomer leads him straight into a group of Krimzon Guards. Luckily, Ximon, Osmo's son, rescues Daxter and explains that there is "something brewing" at a Tanker Ship in the Port. Witnessing this conversation was Kaeden, the man who had been trying to shut down every Extermination Company in Haven City so the Metal Heads and Metal Bugs could get into the city under the command of Metal Kor, the Metal Head leader. After cleaning up the tanker, Daxter meets Tik, who becomes a sort of sidekick to him. Towards the end of the game Daxter is helped by Ximon to locate Jak and free him, thus starting the events of Jak II. Jak II In Jak II, immediately after the events recounted in Daxter, Daxter found Jak and helped him break out of the Haven City Fortress Prison. Outside they meet two persons coincidentally waiting for them outside of the prison. It was an elderly man introduced as Kor, with a kid by his side. Jak and Daxter shortly thereafter had to defeat a squadron of guards in order to "protect" the man and the kid, where Kor then directs them to the Underground movement. There Daxter met Tess, where over the course of the game they formed a relationship. Jak and Daxter are sent on various missions working for new characters. Daxter was only playable a few times in the Tomb of Mar while being chased by a Tomb spider, and during the Class 2 race after Jak and Keira Hagai, the lead race team member and race team mechanic respectively, had a feud. Jak 3 In the beginning of Jak 3, Jak, along with a few of the Grand Council of Haven City representatives, a few soldier escorts, Daxter, and Pecker are transported to the Wasteland as Jak was being banished there for life, found guilty in association with the traitor gang-lord Krew. Daxter was permitted to go back to the city, and told to do so by Jak, though he stayed behind in the Wasteland, found behind the cloud of dust left by the air train. This illustrated the inseparable relationship between Jak and Daxter. Over the course of the game, Daxter helps Jak through Spargus and the Wasteland as his sidekick. In the latter parts of the game, it is revealed that ottsels are actually Precursors, and Daxter was instead "blessed" instead of his perception of being "cursed". Whenever the Ottsel Leader granted Daxter any wish for helping Jak save the universe, he wished for a pair of pants. Daxter has worn these pants in every game after this time. When Tess, Daxter's main love interest, expressed that she "wished she had a pair just like those", the Precursor comically changed her into an ottsel, further solidifying the two's relationship. Daxter is playable in various missions throughout the game, starting with the Great Volcano, which he pushed down a pillar helping Jak traverse parts of the volcanic area, the KG War Factory to activate and deactivate barrier devices, in the Port where he manned a missile turret to deactivate a KG barrier, and in the eco grid where he collected the necessary codes to deactivate the grid. As with Jak II, Daxter also operated the Morph Gun while Jak was driving a zoomer, and additionally rode alongside Jak while using the JET-Board. Jak X: Combat Racing During Jak X: Combat Racing, Daxter, along with Jak, Keira, Ashelin Praxis and Torn were poisoned with black shade by Rayn after toasting to his death while attending his will in Kras City. Krew's post-life holographic host said that the group would have to enter the Kras City Grand Championship and win in order to receive the antidote. Daxter played a minor role in this game, though did serve as an unlockable character after playing for five hours. He still retained his pants received from the Precursors in Jak 3. Daxter and Tess' relationship was hardly present during this game, except towards the end when they were featured having a drink together at the Naughty Ottsel. The Lost Frontier Daxter traveled to Brink Island along with Jak and Keira to help find a new eco source after the world began shorting out. After helping an Aeropan air craft, the group travels to Aeropa, where Daxter falls into a sewerage network while travelling the town. While nervously exploring the sewers, Daxter was doused with large amounts of dark eco waste, transforming him into a large beast known as Dark Daxter. Daxter, like Dark Jak, was able to perform enhanced combat abilities while in this form including throwing dark eco bolts, smashing the ground with superstrength, and a frenzy where he spins in a tempest. Characteristics Appearance Before becoming an ottsel, Daxter appeared to be an ordinary, orange-haired, buck-toothed boy with red and white tunic with off-white trousers. He also appeared to be a few inches shorter than Jak. After the transformation, Daxter became a two-foot-ten-inch-tall rodent with orange fur and a yellow underbelly. He often made remarks about his claws, whiskers, and paws, typical to a rodent species. Throughout the games Daxter makes various remarks about how he misses pants. In Jak 3, however, he is granted a pair of three-quarter length denim shorts with a small hole for his tail by the Ottsel Leader upon request after the Precursor granted him one wish. Daxter also retains goggles and aviator's gloves throughout the entire series as a constant aesthetic. Personality Daxter has provided comical relief throughout the series, and despite being a significant plot factor in The Precursor Legacy and Daxter, was not really present there for any purpose otherwise. In an interview with Naughty Dog's creative director, Dan Arey, it was stated that "Jak is the hero you want to be, Daxter is the hero you're afraid you are. Daxter is just a little bit concerned, a little bit afraid, and he would rather take the easy way out." He also stated that they used Daxter as a "secret weapon" for when scenes start to get boring, allowing the character to use witty but camp jokes, often using poor pickup lines and innuendo. Daxter also, despite being cowardly, attempts to paint himself in the hero's light, exaggerating stories to make him out to be the "real" hero, with Jak merely as a sidekick, though when faced with danger aptly backs away. Albeit, Daxter has shown some heroic and loyal traits, sending after Veger when he taunted Jak about his childhood and early separation from Damas, his father. Daxter also stayed behind with Jak when he was banished to the Wasteland, and also went on a two-year-long journey to free his friend from prison. Additionally, after being doused with dark eco for a second time, Dark Daxter appears to be braver and reckless, being a self-proclaimed "top-of-the-food-chain" predator. Abilities Daxter has very few notable abilities. He was playable in Jak II, Jak 3, and The Lost Frontier during a few sections when only Daxter could reach certain areas because of his size. His move-set is relatively similar to Jak's, though simplified. He can spin kick, and whack his enemies with a lunging strike forward using his tail. He is also capable of hanging on to netting, allowing him to climb and swing from place-to-place. He has also proven to be a very skilled driver despite his size, having placed first in the Class 2 race during Jak II. He is also a skilled combatant (usually when faced against creatures close to his size) as shown in Daxter for his ability to exterminate metal bug infestations, even taking on creatures of behemoth proportions such as Bug queens as well as Kor's right hand, Kaeden. It was not until The Lost Frontier when Dark Daxter became available, that he had any special abilities. Dark Daxter was dissimilar to Dark Jak and replaced many usual playable Daxter sections. Dark Daxter was a huge monster that could pick up and throw enemies, shoot dark eco bolts, and slam his fists on the ground. He could also use a powerful frenzy attack, which was an immensely fast spinning attack which used up dark eco quickly, but could break through several things such as doors, and quickly defeat enemies. Equipment Daxter uses very little equipment throughout the series. In all games, he retains goggles and gloves. During Daxter, Osmo gave Daxter exterminator's equipment which included an electric bug swatter, a spray gun, a flamethrower attachment for that spray gun, and an ultrasonic attachment as well, which was similar to the spray gun, but launched "ultrasonic" bombs at enemies. Daxter will also operate the Morph Gun while Jak is driving a zoomer. Relationships Jak Daxter has had numerous relationships with other characters throughout the series. The first, and most significant is his closest companion and co-titular character, Jak. They have been close friends throughout the series, and maintain an inseparable nature, seen especially in Jak 3, when Daxter stayed behind with Jak as he was being banished to the Wasteland, and when Jak stayed behind with Daxter when he was offered to travel the universe with the Precursors. Additionally, Daxter spent two years in Haven City trying to free his friend from prison. Daxter has also shown a protective nature over Jak, citing that "nobody hurts his friend, and lives to brag about it." Love interests Daxter has displayed flirtatious attitudes towards multiple women multiple times throughout the series. Starting with The Precursor Legacy, Daxter invited Keira out on a date on the A-Grav Zoomer she was working on, and additionally tried to get her to notice him various times by strutting and flirting. In Daxter, he also made remarks towards Taryn. Starting in Jak II, Daxter met Ashelin Praxis, and other than making a few remarks in two consecutive cutscenes did not show much more interest in her than in other previously met female characters (though this may be because Ashelin threatened him with violence and then mostly ignored him afterwards). During Jak II Daxter also met Tess (who goes on to be his main love interest) which at first he shows little interest. When he meets her at the bar, he begins to show some gradual interest. He later brags to her about his would-be adventures, which she believes instantly and becomes impressed with Daxter's "prowess" and "heroism". Daxter takes a liking to her largely because of this. In Jak 3, their relationship appears to become more serious as Daxter does not flirt with any other female character. Their relationship is further solidified when Tess was transformed into an ottsel towards the end of Jak 3. Other appearances PlayStation Move Heroes Daxter, along with Jak, appeared in the game PlayStation Move Heroes, accompanying characters from similar and affiliated video games, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper. Jak and Daxter were sucked into a wormhole which subsequently dumped them on a mysterious planet, where Jak first suspected Ratchet of the sudden turn of events. It was then revealed that two creatures named Lunk and Gleeber were responsible, who set up a competition for the three duos known as the "Inter-Universal Hero Games". The Games were actually a malicious plot to steal chunks of the planets of the heroes in order to form a ring around a mysterious new planet in the universe, Lunk and Gleeber being an evil alien duo who enslaved an alien race known as Whibbles, forcing them to mine the heroes' planets hollow. The team defeats the alien duo and manages to use the device for themselves to return home safely. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Daxter and Jak also appear in the game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. In their story, Jak and Daxter set out to find a stronger source of eco. They run into Ratchet and Clank and proceed to fight after Daxter mistakes them for a two-headed creature, meanwhile Clank calls him a weasel creature where after it escalates quickly. They went through several more battles, fighting against various strange characters and people. Eventually they managed to win and retrieve the "eco", which turns out to be "All-Star Power", an unrelated power source. They then return home. This is the first game since Jak 3 which reflects upon Daxter and Tess' relationship again, after Daxter citing that he wishes to return home to her. Cameos * It can be seen in the beginning of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune an ottsel head (possibly Daxter's) on the arm of Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher, as well as the word "ottsel" across the chest. * Daxter is featured as a DLC character in the PlayStation 3 exclusive game PAIN. * In Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, when Ratchet gains a gadget piece, Clank does the same dance as Daxter when a power cell is collected, is interrupted by Ratchet. * In the game Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, you can collect a treasure called "Lutrela Nivadensis" which is Daxter wearing a leopard skin loincloth. Its description is, "The Lutrela Nivadensis is a rare hybrid species of the Carnivora family. It is known for its orange fur and loud mouth." * Daxter makes an appearance during Uncharted 3 multiplayer. References Category:Characters in The Precursor Legacy Category:Characters in Jak II Category:Characters in Jak 3 Category:Characters in Daxter Category:Characters in Jak X Category:Characters in The Lost Frontier Category:Underground Category:Freedom League Category:Kridder Ridder